Cribbing



Se t. 14, 1937. w. D. SCHENK CRIBBING Filed Feb. 26, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR v WAL TE? 11 ,3 CHE/VA.

ATTORN EY6.

Se t. 14, 1937. w. D. SCHENK CRIBBING} Filed Feb. 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WHLTER D Sane/v10- A TTORNE Y6.

Patented p 7 V 2,092,933:

UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE v 2,092,933 1 e I CRIBBING I r Walter D. Schenlr, Cleveland, Ohio Application February 26, 1934, Serial No. 712, 73 10 Claims.' (01. 61-47) This invention relates to the art of cribbing Fig. 4is a perspective viewsof one ofthe front employed for retaining walls, etc. V stretcher members; a V I In the present invention, the cribbing coni Fig. 5 is a perspective view of oneof the'rear sists entirely of metallic structure, as an improvestretcher members; H w f r 5. ment upon the old wooden and concrete cribbing Fig. 6 is a planviewrrof a cribbing assembly 5;

and'is an improvement also upon certain recent embodying my invention; I e attempts at metal cribbing. I r Fig.7 is a view taken on line 1-! f Fig. 1; and One object of the present invention is to de- Fig. 8 is a'perspective view of a plurality of vise an all metal cribbing structure in which headers and spacers therefor. 10 there is comparatively little surface area ex- The front stretcher members I- are in the form 10 posed tothe natural elements and which permits of steel panels which are depressed; as at l a comparatively large degree of back-fill, while and are of singleordouble length, as: indicated at the same time thereis realized-a great degree in Fig. 1. These panel members are-arrangedof strength. end to end laterally and in; vertically disposed} Another object is to devise such an all-metal tiers, with the end-joints between,;aijacent, 1 5,"- cribbing structure in which the component elestretcher members staggered; as -also indicated ments are of comparatively light weight and inijig. 1.

small bulk for increased ease of handling and .The front stretcher members-Fare provided erection, without sacrificing any of the strength with bolt holes 2 at their ends in the case of single 20.- required for the purpose intended. length members, and at; the ends and'middleas It is also an object that the fabricated metal well in the case of the double length members. cribbing structure possess a certain desirable: In the middle of the double length members, degree of flexibility which is made possible by there are provided double rows of bolt holes in the particular form and nature of material emvertical alignment with the two rowsofbolt holes ployed in my improved combination. in the adjacent ends of laterally arranged A further object consists in so constructing such stretcher members; (See Fig. 1) r V an all-metal cribbing that 'the dangerof loss It will be observed that theyfront stretcher of back-fill is reduced to a minimum while at the members have rearwardly extending flanges l same time there is permitted proper and adequate at the top and bottom thereof-,.these flanges be-,

drainage. ing coped out in the regions of the bolt holes, 19,

With all of the above objects in View, it is also so as to accommodate attachment of the header an object to produce a form of cribbing that is members, as will appear. 3

reasonable in cost as regards manufacture and The header members in the presentcase are in assembly of the component elements as well as the form of metal plate girders 3 with metal upkeep. angle members 4 welded at the top and bottom .35

It is also an object to devise an all-metal criband upon opposite sides thereof soas to form an bing structure that can be conveniently built up I-shaped header member. 7

in any desired size or proportions and that can Welded upon opposite sides of theend portions conveniently and efficiently bev adapted for any of the header members and between the angle 40 given set of conditions. members4 are theangle members 5.-- The -mem-' The foregoing objects constitute also the objects bers 5 abut the edges of the angle members '4 of my companion application executed of even and havetheir 'end flanges 5 flush: with the date, Serial No. 712,972, filed February 26, 1934. ends of the main body portion of the plate girder The specific form of header members and their stretcher 3. The flanges 5 in'each case are sub- 1 combination with the particular form and 'a'rstantially flush with each other and are provided rangement of stretcher members, as disclosed in with bolt ho 1es 5 for connection tothe-stretcher this particular. application, also constitute a part members at both the front andrearends of the of the present invention. header members. The header; members are con- Other objects will appear from the following structed in the same manner at both front; and description and claims when considered together rear ends thereof. H with, the accompanying drawings. I have provided also metal spacer means-be- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a tween the adjacent upper a'ndlower header memcribbing embodying my present invention; bers-at the front and rear ends thereof. These Figs. 2 and -3 are views taken on lines 2-2 and spacer elements liare duplicatesoflthe,endporv 3 3, respectively of Fig. 1; l H Y tions ofithe fabricated header members and'ine members.

clude the upper and lower angle members 6 and the angle members having the flanges 6 which are provided with bolt holes 6.

Thus, each end portion of each header is of three laminations and the same thing is true of the spacer elements. (See Fig. '1). The spacer elements are welded to the adjacent header members.

The header members are bolted, as at l, to the front stretcher members and are arranged vertically above each other, there being a plurality of such vertical series, the number varying according to the size of the structure. It will be seen that the ends of the vertically arranged headers are bolted alternately to the middle of a double length stretcher member and to the ends of laterally adjacent stretcher members. That is,

the header members have their ends secured across the joint between laterally, adjacent stretcher members. I V

It is to be understood that the cribbing structure may be made of any desired size and pro' portions according to any given set of conditions and the shape of the front wall will therefore be determined thereby. Likewise, the single and double, lengths of stretcher members may be employed whenever suitable according to the shape of the wall as determined by the conditions. Y The rear ends of the header members are connected to the rear metal stretcher members 8 which are bolted thereto through the boltho1es8 The members 8 are flanged at top and bottom edges ,;as indicated at 8', except at the points'8' wherethey are coped out so as to accommodate their'connectidn to the header members.

Metal spacer elements of the same form and construction as the front spacer elements, are inserted at therear in the same manner as at the front, but the rear stretcher members 8 areoohnected only to the header members and not to the spacer elements, and are accordingly of only single width as compared the front stretcher The rear stretcher members 8 are of single and double lengths, as in the case of the front stretchers I, and are alternated laterally across the rear of the cribbing structure, and the joints in the the vertically adjacent tiers of -*rear stretcher members are staggered in the same manner' as in the case of the front stretcher members. This will be readily understood from the illustration of the front stretchers in Fig; 11

As indicated in Fig. 3, some of the header members may be of greater length, and metal spacers may be inserted between the longer headers midway of the length thereof and 'at pointsinthe same plane as those spacers betweenthe rear ends of the shorter headers, as indicated by reference numeral 6. These intermediate spacers may be duplicates of the front and rearspacers. The intermediate spacers have their topand bottom flanges welded to the flanges of the header members. In this way, the middle portions of the longer headers are reinforced agai'nstthe load applied thereto by the weight of the shorter headers above. Thus, I am enabled to employ longer headers without sacrificing any of the strength which is characteristic of the cribbing structure in which shorter lengths of header members are employed.

'At the bottom of my cribbing structure, Ihave provided the footing stretchers 9 in the'form'of metal'strips which extend acrossthe bottomfio'f the structure, as'indioated in Figs; 2 and 31 These footing stretchers 9 are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the cribbing structure at the front and rear and also at a point just beneath and in the plane of the auxiliary spacers 6', in the case of longer headers being employed, as instanced in Fig. 3.

The footing stretchers each have a depending flange 9 which is intended to engage the ground upon which the cribbing structure is built, so as to assist in maintaining the same in set position.

In case the cribbing should be set upon rock or ground of a rocky nature, then the flange 9 may 'be-omitted or it may be provided as an upwardly .,extending flange at the front edge thereof for reinforcing purposes. ,gflange would be provided only at intervals upon Such upwardly extending preliminarily in standard sizes which may be kept in stock:" Also, the headers are to be recognized as self-contained units which may be handled and applied as such.

This structure is of comparatively light weight and accordingly involves a comparatively small.

quantity of structural material, which means greater convenience in shipping and handling and" assembling the several units and also a comparativ'eiy'lowcost of materials, shipping and labor.

At the same time, because of the particular structure and arrangement of'the girder form of headers, together with the stretchers, the entire combination is capable of withstanding the stresses to which subjected by the load of material which fillsthe same. Not only does the girder form of header prove most efficient in supporting.

the-load but the entire structure possesses. a certain degree of flexibility by virtue of the particular' form ofheader and stretcher members.

. Also, the girder form of headers permits the earthand other such material to be filled in between the'headers, which means a more compact mass approaching the condition of aself-supporting load, since the load upon the top of any given header is comparatively little because of the correspondingly small extent of top surface of each header member. At the same time, the back-fill of earth, etc., is permitted to entirely fill the space between the headers and thus surround each and every header member with practically no void.

Y Thus, the header members maybe regarded as constituting. virtually a means of embedded metallic reinforcement for the practically solid body of back-fill, which is the ideal condition for a cribbing or retaining wall structure.

Furthermore, I have devised a convenient and efficient means of connecting the header members to each other and also for connecting the front and rear stretcher members to the header members and front spacer members. Also, the practically continuous front wall afforded by the structure and arrangement of the front stretcher members, prevents the back-fill from being washed away through the cribbing. At the same time, I have allowed sufiicient space I? between the stretchers to permit passage of water therethrough without carrying away any of the back-fill.

The practically continuous front wall also lends to the appearance of the structure which can be still furtherimproved by application of aluminum paint or the like thereto. Such a coating would also serve as a protecting medium against the natural elements.

What I claim is:

1. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for securing said members together.

2. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal I-beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for securing said members together.

3. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arrangedbetween the end portions of the same with their topand bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for securing said members together, said means including plates attached to the end portions of said header members and to said spacer members for securing said stretcher members thereto.

4. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for securing said members together, said means including substantially duplicate L-members attached to the sides of the end portions of said header members and of said spacer members for securing said stretcher members thereto.

5. A cribbing structure. comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for securing said members together, said means including substantially duplicate L-members attached to the opposite sides of the end portions of said header members and of said spacer members, thereby forming substantially T-shaped ends upon said header and spacer members for attachment of the stretcher members.

* members. 7

gaging the flanges of said header'members, and

means for attaching front stretcher members to said header and spacer members and for attaching rear stretcher members only to said header members. 7

7. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher 15 and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and 7 bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and means for attaching front stretcher members to said header and spacer members with the joints between the laterally adjacent stretcher members staggered vertically.

8. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of sub:-

stantially the same form as said header members and arranged between the end portions of the same with their top and bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and

of metal plates substantially closing the entire front of the structure, andsaid stretcher members at the rear being in the form of metal plates secured only to the header members and closing only a part of the rear of the structure.

9. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the formof metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges'at the top and' bottom edges theerof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between only the end. portions of the same with their top and'bottom flanges engaging the flanges of said header members, and 7 means for securing said members together.

10. A cribbing structure comprising stretcher and header members, said header members being in the form of metal beams arranged on edge and having laterally extending flanges at the top and bottom edges thereof, spacer members of substantially the same form as said header members and arranged between only the endportions of,

the same with their top and bottom flanges en gaging the flanges of said header members, and means for attaching front stretcher'members to said header and spacer members and for attaching rear stretcher members only to said header WALTER D. SCHEN'K.

35 7 means for securing said members together, said stretcher members at the front being in the form 7 

